I’ve had quite a crafty weekend, but amongst my long list of things to make, an autumn dress for Ava was not one of them. Last night Howard asked me what I was making now. ‘A dress for Ava!’ I said. ‘Oh, for her birthday?’ he asked, to which I gently pointed out that her birthday was in a month and that there was just no way I could wait that long.

So, an Autumn dress it is. For right now.

It’s an almagamation of a few different patterns that I love – and inspired by some of the amazing designs in ‘Carefree Clothes for Girls’ – (which is where Ava’s birthday dress will come from, pattern wise).

I really love the rag-tag, unfinished, slightly mismatched nature of the clothes in ‘Carefree Girls’ and I wanted a similar feel to this dress.

This dress is extra flared, and made from a dark brown silk which I ‘patchworked’ on the outside. Tied with a creamy, coffee ribbon, and with an unfinished hem which, in time, will fray and knot a little giving it a great edge. I added the teal buttons down the back to give it a slightly more everyday look and also add a bit of unexpected colour.

I do love autumn colours so much and I think I’m never going to tire of adding buttons and ribbons to everything. Ava added her new (Mama-made) autumn/winter hat too.